Bear in
mind that the Israeli system includes techniques for rifle, submachinegun,
pistol, and H2H as well as a great deal of aggression training. The aggression
and simplicity of the system rather than the efficiency of the techniques is
why it's been successful.
The Israeli method came about shortly after Israel was established as a protectorate by the U.N.. They had real problems with terrorists, procuring weapons, and training the maximum amount of people in a minimum amount of time.
The usual terrorist attack came in town, in crowds, and consisted of one individual tossing grenades or firing into the crowd. The pistols were distributed for concealed carry in day to day activities to respond to this sort of attack. The idea was that if one or more people immediately and unexpectedly began to return fire, the terrorist would find it difficult to complete his attack.
The firearms that were distributed were a real mix of whatever surplus arms the brand new Israeli government could scrape together. They included Browning P35s, Walther P38s, a large quantity of Russian Tokarevs, and whatever else was available in quantity on the world market.
The Russian Tokarevs were particularly important in the development of the technique because they have no safety. The safeties on the recent Chinese Tokarev imports were added to comply with U.S. import restrictions. The Tokarev is a great pistol. The feed rails are integral with the frame so feed problems are almost nonexistent. As long as the magazine will hold cartridges it will feed. But, a pistol with no safety does limit your carry options a bit.
Another pistol with similar characteristics to the Tokarev was the Beretta designed M1951 Brigadier pistol. The safety on the M51 is a push-through button placed just forward and below the hammer on the stock of the pistol. The placement of the M51 safety is awkward and presents the same problem as the safetyless Tokarev. The M51 was manufactured by Helwan for the Arabs and is seen in the U.S. as an inexpensive surplus arm. The Israelis used the M51 as their issue arm for years.
The Israelis wanted one standard technique that could be taught with any semi-auto and felt that condition 3 (full magazine, chamber empty, hammer down, safety off) was the safest for the Tokarevs. Concealment holsters were not available in bunches either so standard carry was tucked behind the belt, under the jacket, behind the strongside hip with the butt to the left (for righties) and the sights to the right.
1 - The first steps are taken simultaneously. The shooter drops into a horse stance square on to his target. He clears his jacket and reaches back for his pistol with his right hand. He extends his left hand out ahead of him and sweeps it to the left to clear any bystanders from his field of fire.
2 - The pistol is brought up to eye level, close to the face and on its side with the sights to the left. The left hand meets it there and grasps the slide.
3 - The left hand remains in position while the right hand moves briskly forward to full extension toward the target, still at eye level. This racks the slide and chambers a round. At full extension the pistol is brought back to vertical. The Israelis don’t shoot it in the horizontal position.
4 - The left hand moves forward and the pistol is taken in a two hand isosceles hold.
5 - The shooter does not use the sights but simply looks over them and concentrates on the target. He shoots until the target goes down. You won’t get target grade accuracy with this method but it’s plenty accurate at pistol combat ranges.
This technique is extremely safe for the shooter as the chamber is empty until the weapon is actually pointed at the target. It can be taught in a minimum amount of time. It can be broken down into distinct steps that are taught individually. As the student practices he gains in speed and the sequence becomes smoother. The Israeli counter terrorist teams used to be interesting to watch. They were very quick but they operated “by the numbers” and their movements seemed almost jerky. Each step they performed was very distinct. A reasonable amount of accuracy can be obtained with a minimal amount of ammunition. By indexing the whole body on the target, coarse accuracy is almost guaranteed. While not perfect, the whole system coincides nicely with untrained stress reactions. Most people will instinctively crouch in a fight. Most people will push the pistol out to full extension and the isosceles stance will automatically index it straight ahead. People have a tendency to put their finger on the trigger before the sights are on the target. The Israeli method prevents leg shots. Beginners tend to look at the target rather than the sights. This system takes that into account.
Just imagine Joe Terrorist. Because the pistols are concealed he doesn’t know how many people in the crowd are carrying. If he does start shooting he’ll collect holes from three or four directions almost instantly. His body count will probably be reduced considerably.
I am familiar with most popular combat pistol shooting methods. I carry my pistol in condition one (round chambered, hammer back, safety on). I shoot from the Weaver stance (unless the close contact stance is called for) for better recoil control. I use my sights. Given the same set of circumstances the Israelis faced I might choose their method.
The Israeli method came about shortly after Israel was established as a protectorate by the U.N.. They had real problems with terrorists, procuring weapons, and training the maximum amount of people in a minimum amount of time.
The usual terrorist attack came in town, in crowds, and consisted of one individual tossing grenades or firing into the crowd. The pistols were distributed for concealed carry in day to day activities to respond to this sort of attack. The idea was that if one or more people immediately and unexpectedly began to return fire, the terrorist would find it difficult to complete his attack.
The firearms that were distributed were a real mix of whatever surplus arms the brand new Israeli government could scrape together. They included Browning P35s, Walther P38s, a large quantity of Russian Tokarevs, and whatever else was available in quantity on the world market.
The Russian Tokarevs were particularly important in the development of the technique because they have no safety. The safeties on the recent Chinese Tokarev imports were added to comply with U.S. import restrictions. The Tokarev is a great pistol. The feed rails are integral with the frame so feed problems are almost nonexistent. As long as the magazine will hold cartridges it will feed. But, a pistol with no safety does limit your carry options a bit.
Another pistol with similar characteristics to the Tokarev was the Beretta designed M1951 Brigadier pistol. The safety on the M51 is a push-through button placed just forward and below the hammer on the stock of the pistol. The placement of the M51 safety is awkward and presents the same problem as the safetyless Tokarev. The M51 was manufactured by Helwan for the Arabs and is seen in the U.S. as an inexpensive surplus arm. The Israelis used the M51 as their issue arm for years.
The Israelis wanted one standard technique that could be taught with any semi-auto and felt that condition 3 (full magazine, chamber empty, hammer down, safety off) was the safest for the Tokarevs. Concealment holsters were not available in bunches either so standard carry was tucked behind the belt, under the jacket, behind the strongside hip with the butt to the left (for righties) and the sights to the right.
1 - The first steps are taken simultaneously. The shooter drops into a horse stance square on to his target. He clears his jacket and reaches back for his pistol with his right hand. He extends his left hand out ahead of him and sweeps it to the left to clear any bystanders from his field of fire.
2 - The pistol is brought up to eye level, close to the face and on its side with the sights to the left. The left hand meets it there and grasps the slide.
3 - The left hand remains in position while the right hand moves briskly forward to full extension toward the target, still at eye level. This racks the slide and chambers a round. At full extension the pistol is brought back to vertical. The Israelis don’t shoot it in the horizontal position.
4 - The left hand moves forward and the pistol is taken in a two hand isosceles hold.
5 - The shooter does not use the sights but simply looks over them and concentrates on the target. He shoots until the target goes down. You won’t get target grade accuracy with this method but it’s plenty accurate at pistol combat ranges.
This technique is extremely safe for the shooter as the chamber is empty until the weapon is actually pointed at the target. It can be taught in a minimum amount of time. It can be broken down into distinct steps that are taught individually. As the student practices he gains in speed and the sequence becomes smoother. The Israeli counter terrorist teams used to be interesting to watch. They were very quick but they operated “by the numbers” and their movements seemed almost jerky. Each step they performed was very distinct. A reasonable amount of accuracy can be obtained with a minimal amount of ammunition. By indexing the whole body on the target, coarse accuracy is almost guaranteed. While not perfect, the whole system coincides nicely with untrained stress reactions. Most people will instinctively crouch in a fight. Most people will push the pistol out to full extension and the isosceles stance will automatically index it straight ahead. People have a tendency to put their finger on the trigger before the sights are on the target. The Israeli method prevents leg shots. Beginners tend to look at the target rather than the sights. This system takes that into account.
Just imagine Joe Terrorist. Because the pistols are concealed he doesn’t know how many people in the crowd are carrying. If he does start shooting he’ll collect holes from three or four directions almost instantly. His body count will probably be reduced considerably.
I am familiar with most popular combat pistol shooting methods. I carry my pistol in condition one (round chambered, hammer back, safety on). I shoot from the Weaver stance (unless the close contact stance is called for) for better recoil control. I use my sights. Given the same set of circumstances the Israelis faced I might choose their method.
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